


Happiness in Pain

by GlassesG33k



Category: Mork & Mindy
Genre: F/M, Gen, None - Freeform, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 17:52:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17146325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlassesG33k/pseuds/GlassesG33k
Summary: Mork gets a bicycle, it's not what he wanted or expected.





	Happiness in Pain

**Author's Note:**

> All these happen possibly before Season One Episode 18 – "Mork goes Erk", Or at least this one does. 
> 
> (I swear I'm going to totally rewrite this, but if I do I'll try to remember to leave this up, so don't worry. =-) Despite the mess that it is I'm posting it anyway tonight - Dec. 24th, 2018 - so Merry Christmas Everyone and I hope this helps with the Holiday Blues, maybe if I ever can I'll be able to be healed enough to actually write a Christmas Fan.Fic., ONE of the greatest gifts ever ;-D!)

**Happiness in Pain**

 

“Mork! Mork! Mork come'ere outside!”

Mork jumped down from his perch in the attic, it was his bed for a while now and he was glad for the fact that he was able to sleep properly with out having to become nauseated or dizzy.

He'd made the attic his place only a short while ago and had done his best to make it homey, or at least passable in the line of being comfortable.

Mork raced down the stairs, “What?”

“'Ere!” Mindy waved her hand, she was half way out the door already. She grabbed his hand as he got near and led him downstairs out into the backyard of the old Victorian house they rented the upstairs of.

“Ta da!” She waved her arms presenting what looked like a strange mechanical object. It was made of interconnecting bars and had two rather large thin circles that it delicately perched upon. A very waif and delicate object Mork wasn't sure what to make of it, much less what to say.

“Well, ahh, it looks beautiful.” he walked over to it and gently ran his fingertips over the new yard ornament. The artist had done a very good job, he especially liked the thin metal strings connecting the outer large rings to a center point in the middle of each circle.

“I'm glad you like it,” Mindy rocked back on her heels, clasping her hands behind her back and puffing her chest out, she seemed to be very proud of herself.

“What is it,” Mork looked back at her.

“Well it's a bike,” she waved her hand over it again, “silly.”

“A bike,” Mork caressed the item again, and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Oh wow!” he tried to give an impressed sigh but barely suppressed his chuckle instead.   
He looked it over and noticed that it had a triangle of sorts perched on top of one of the metal tubes.

On one end there was another set of bars going sideways with some sort of rubber or plastic as the humans called it covering the very tips of the metal bars.

After a few minutes Mork stepped back and hugged himself, standing next to Mindy. He rocked back on his feet not sure what kind of reaction she was expecting him to give, but emotions were part of it he was sure. He liked that about Earth for the most part but in instances like this he was lost as to how to respond or what was appropriate. After a bit of awkward silence he finally had to ask, “what do you do with it?”

“You-”  
“I mean it's a nice yard sculpture. The artist-”  
“Sculpture!?” Mindy turned to him.

“Well, yes,” he looked at her, “it's very nice, painted well and thickly, very much made to withstand the weather. But I'm not sure the owner of this place would allow such adjustments to the yard. Didn't you tell me that all-”  
“No, no no Mork!” Mindy waved her hand silencing him. “Mork it's a bike!” she beamed, her smile so wide it showed her teeth and was “ear to ear” as the term was stated.

Mork stood still for a minute then had to lean in and ask, “What's a B-IK-E?” he sounded out the word hoping he got the pronunciation right.

“Well, it's ahh, it's a toy-”  
“A toy?” Mork held back his chuckle his forehead tilting towards her and then it automatically, as if his very body were pointing in the only way he would let it.

“Yeah, for adults.”  
“For adults?”  
“And you ride it.”   
“Ride it!?” Mork couldn't stop the outright laugh (but only one) that popped out. He looked at the yard sculpture, “you ride that!?” he pointed at it,“how!?” he could feel his own face contorting now into a smile, if Orson were here he'd be kicked so hard!

“Well,” Mindy waved her arms over the item and then walked up to it. “Like,” she swung her legs over the main bar that seemed to hold the whole object together, “like this.” She nodded matter-of-factly and then proceeded to gingerly balance on the thing. She was wobbly and Mork couldn't do anything but stare as she placed what Earthling's called their “behind” onto the small distorted triangle and then place her feet onto the small bent bars on either side of the sculpture. He was about to reach out and try to catch her, or really get flattened by her and this odd object when she took off!

He watched as she shakily rode around the yard, and small fountain in the center, the whole time nearly falling off or collapsing onto the ground.

Mork was torn between trying to save her and staying the heck away so to not get damaged himself.

She finally came to a stop right in front of him and “dismounted” as if climbing off a horse; sort of.

“Well, I'm rusty but I figured that we could go bicycling together.” She beamed at him and he couldn't help but echo back the emotion she showed on her face.

It was moments like this, right here and now in this second of time, that he loved being on Earth.

“But,” Mindy looked the bike over, “it never occurred to me that you'd never seen this before,” she sighed disappointed it seemed, “or that you wouldn't know how to ride one.”

“Well, I!” Mork rubbed his shoulder not sure what to say. Should he lie and do his best to master this common item of everyday Earth life while Mindy was away at work? Or should he tell the truth and let her know that not only did it look dangerous but ridiculous to boot. Mork knitted his brows, wishing he could decipher what was expected of him at this moment.

“I guess I'll have to get you training wheels,” Mindy giggled, seeming to be shy about her need to laugh. “infact I think I still have my old bike, and their probably on that one. It'd probably suit you better while you learn to ride.”  
“Learn to ride?”

“Yeah,” Mindy nodded, “it's closer to the ground and you won't get so scraped up if you fall over.” Mindy turned to go back inside.   
“Scraped up?” Mork turned and followed her in, this sounded very bad indeed.

 

~*~*~*~

 

Mindy managed to find her old bike along with her training wheels. It was one harrowing week after that, or really three weeks, but before long Mork learned a few things.

One, “Friction” was your friend, unless you were being scraped along the ground by it. He found out that anything with wheels on it was a deterrent to what Earthlings called “friction” and putting wheels between himself and the ground was not a good idea. Mork fell so many times that he was black and blue, truly knowing what pain meant by the time the first week was out.

Two, having your skin scrapped off was terrible, and in this case “Friction” as Earthlings called it, was a very very BAD thing. Mork found that even while wearing heavy cloth you could still be “Skinned”, inside your clothes, by the very fabric you wore to protect yourself.

Three, Earthlings are malicious. By the time the third week was out he had finally gotten the hang of this “Bicycling”. He was taking his first independent go with out Mindy trying to hang onto the seat, or running beside him when this jerk came along, shouted something at him, and then “Close lined him” as Mindy called it.

It as after this that Mork got a bit angry and kinda bounced the bike off the side walk then went in.

“Oh Mork!” Mindy had later said, “I think everyone was giving you grief because you were riding _**my**_ bike.” Mork looked up at her, they were in the bathroom Mindy putting some of that terrible stinging stuff on his scrapped knee again. On Earth even the “Healing” ointments hurt, what a terrible planet. No wonder no one wanted to come here, they really were Nimnuls. So far he'd scrapped every part of his body and now knew what it felt like to be hit, HARD. He'd scrapped up old “scrapes” as Mindy called them, had managed to bruise his hip quite terribly, scaring him about his third heart, and knew what it felt like to nearly get a broken arm.

He was really not liking this “bicycling” thing, not one bit.

“It's not ordinary to have a grown man riding a child's bike, and one with training wheels.”  
“Oh?” Mork looked at his injury and watched as Mindy placed a new thick pad of Gauze on it. That was another thing, the “bandages” as they were called, an archaic way of “keeping injuries clean” had to be changed at least every other day, “So they won't stick to the cuts and hurt worse when removed,” Mindy had said.

When he found out about this all Mork could do was sigh and wish that he could show her his planets way of dealing with such things (or really the way they had dealt with them back when Orkans were still getting such injuries. It had been many bleams now since anyone had really needed any kind of help for any such thing as what he was going through on this planet so far. Being cut or injured had long since been removed for regular Orkans. Presently Orkans only got injured like this in Hallitackers, and other such war like deciding games. And those were usually leaders only, or at least ones chosen by the leaders to fight, or “play” as Earthlings would put it. A great hero or athlete of sorts would be chosen to fight for each side.)

The first week Mork had stayed up and looked over the cacophony of his scrapes, cuts and bruises. Then done his best to heal them with his fingers, it wasn't able to do much but at least it was something. According to Mindy he was healing much faster than Earthlings did, “it must be your Orkan, physiology” she'd said, or the equivalent thereof. “it usually takes a good three weeks to heal that fast!” she praised him as she'd peeled off the sticky gauze after the second day of trying to show him how to “ride a bike”.   
If she only knew.

Mork had looked at her then and had wished that he could show her. He'd watched intently as she'd recleaned and bandaged him up, trying to impart to him how to take care of this himself via their Earth customs. With their terrible thin and stinging ointments that fizzed and made him near scream, or actually did make him scream the first time she'd tried placing some foul smelling stuff on one of the first scrapes she'd fixed up for him.

He'd jumped away his body reacting with out his input.

“Mork!” She'd grabbed his arm and then held him tight as she proceeded to torture him. After a few seconds he could take no more, “I'll tell you what you want just PLEASE!” he'd begged, “STOP!”

“Oh Mork!” Mindy had just yanked on his arm and told him to, “quit being a baby.”

It was after this first incident that not he nor Mindy had done anything about his injuries the first week that she had coaxed him into the bathroom again and demanded that she get to take a look at his elbow.

“I wanna see how it's healing.”  
“Well ah-” Mork had scooted away, trying to make a break for it.

“No come'ere” she'd cornered him and then grabbed his arm.   
He winced and she shoved at his sleeve.

“Oh Mork!” she seemed perturbed, “lookit!” She rolled his sleeve up, “you got blood on your clothes.” She grunted trying to shove the fabric higher, “I told you to take care of this.”

“Yeah but-”  
“You haven't been doing anything about any of your injuries have you.” She inhaled in a sort of gasping sigh when she noticed, “how bad it was”.

“Look! You've got a scrape on top of a scab.” She sounded disappointed. “if you don't fix this up it'll get infected. And the shirt is sticking to your skin. Here gimme your leg.” She looked own at his knee then.

Mork looked too.

No.

Dear god no.

She managed to get him to sit down on the edge of the tub and then rolled his pants leg up, she looked disgusted and then repulsed.

“Mork. Did you change the bandage like I told you?”  
“Ahh-”  
The next instant kind of blacked out because all he knew was knee pain.   
Mindy had ripped off the gauze pad taking the scab with it.

“Now see? This is what I mean when I told you, you had to change the bandages. It healed to the gauze and now when I removed it, it took the scab with it.” She looked at the small wad of medical covering, wincing at it then at his knee. Mork saw that part of himself was on that damn thing.

He glared at Mindy, unable to help himself.

Thankfully her head was bowed and she didn't notice, he was able to stop himself and recover quickly, placing a neutral emotion on his demeanor at least.

“Here.” Mindy got up and got out all the “torture instruments” as Mork had now termed them in his mind.

She “fixed him up” as she called it, but as far as Mork was concerned she'd only heightened his pain and made it that much more bothersome to undo all the wrappings and tape when he was alone.

On top of this, when there wasn't pain he was “itchy”.

Very itchy.

As if his very skin was reacting to every last bit of healing stuff she'd stuck on him.

The whole thing was terrible.

It was after this incident in the first week that Mindy started to check his injuries on a daily basis, and also “care” for them, as she thought of it.

Mork saw it as meddling and getting far to close.

But he had to admit, to himself at least, that he did like the … “intimacy” of sorts, if he got the word right. How he was so close to Mindy in the bathroom, and especially how she seemed to truly love him.

Caring for his injuries, it was at one point that he was sitting there, watching as she fixed up another bad cut, this time across a scrape on his shoulder that a feeling of some sort came over him.

The thought of being willing to beat the crap outta himself just so she'd be willing to touch him shot through his mind and he automatically leaned back.

“Oh no don't!” Mindy had grabbed his arm and leaned him back towards her.

He realized that this had gone to far and he needed to stop.

This wasn't like him.

This wasn't him

…

Or it shouldn't be.

It wasn't natural.

Normal.

Right.

Mork could do nothing but to turn his face away and try to swallow down all the … whatever it was he was feeling.

It was rising up as some sort of overtaking softness, warmth … whatever, in his whole being.

Orkans were not like this, he was an Orkan and as Orson had said this was not natural.

Not Normal.

Not right.

It was wrong, wrong, wrong.

WRONG.

Mork was wrong.

He was odd, dirty, off, filth, sick-

“All done!” Mindy announced tossing the last bit of cotton into the little trash receptacle.

 

That night Mork's mind ran and he had what was the most frightening of all experiences.

He was sat on the edge of the tub, Mindy dabbing at his skin. He watched, not physically feeling anything really, but seeing everything though. As far as he could tell it was real life.

He waited while she cleaned up some sort of wrong on his skin, something that only she could see for when Mork looked down his skin was perfectly fine, not a cut, scratch, bruise, injury of any kind on it.

After a minute something, that feeling from earlier overcame him and he was reveling in how soft it felt, and making notes of it when he saw his hand reach out.

He sat in awe, unable or unwilling, which he wasn't sure of, to stop himself, as his hand took Mindy's skin and held it between his fingers.

He looked down at their two skins against each other, wishing to rub all of his skin against hers, wondering what that would feel like.

A scientific curiosity in his mind.

“Thank you,” he said to her wrist, his eyes glued to her arm, only able to see that. Shame and guilt blacked out his peripheral vision causing the edges to be blurry.

Mork gasped and suddenly he was hanging up side down in the dark. He shook his head and realized he was in the attic, suspended from his perch.

“ _My god!_ ” Mork said the equivalent of sorts in Orkan, and exhaled wiping his face.

What the heck was wrong with him!

This was the worst yet, he'd never had … whatever this was. Maybe his circuits were flunking out, maybe his neurology was flunking out, maybe HE was flunking out!

Maybe it was staying on Earth, some sort of disease that only Orkans, or travelers from other planets were susceptible too, or … or...

Mork gulped and made a note to take inventory of his mind and systems again, go over his implants and other devices, even though he'd already done it many times over now.

…

Mork hung for a bit …

Maybe Orson was right.

Maybe his body was flunking out from being around humans, becoming connected.

Maybe it was his becoming close to Mindy that was doing this to him.

Mork rubbed his face again, _“oh god no!”_

 

~*~*~*~*

 

Despite it all by the end of three weeks Mork had finally managed to start riding on his own.

But it was the “Clothes-lining” as Mindy had called it that he nearly gave it up.

“Mork, it's just not normal for a grown man to be riding a bike with training wheels.”   
“But I'm not supposed to stick out,” Mork had clutched the towel he'd had in his hands in an attempt to keep himself from grabbing his injuries as Mindy fixed him up.

“I know. I know.” Mindy groused and went silent, seeming to think. “But I want you to be able to go bicycling with me, and it's really fun if you get the hang of it.”   
Mork didn't dare answer that one, as far as he was concerned the only reason he as doing this was because Mindy wanted him to.

If it were his choice he would have never gotten on that darn thing.

“How about from now on you stay in the back yard and-”  
“But how will I ever learn if I can't ride on the street?”  
“Well!” Mindy stood throwing out the last of the stuff in her hand, “the only thing I can think of is that you have to use the bike I bought you.”  
“Oh,” Mork bowed his head.

“Really you're just lucky that you were already falling when that damn jerk came by, otherwise you really could have gotten hurt.”   
“Yeah.” Mork shifted, he didn't dare tell her that several safety systems had automatically enacted and that had not only saved his head from coming off his shoulders but had saved his head from bouncing hard on the curb. It also slowed time allowing him to get out of the way of the malicious arm or baseball bat in time to not be hit so hard. This allowed him to enact several systems of his own and do a few things himself to save his own neck. Overall if it wasn't for the fact that he was an advanced species, quicker and with better faster thought processes, along with far superior technology he would very much be stiff city right now.

Or that's what he kept trying to reassure himself with, over and over again.

  
Before long Mork realized he was going to have to learn how to bicycle on his own. One day while Mindy was out he grabbed the bike she bought him then went out to the edge of town. He put on a time warp and got to practicing.

It took all day but by the end he was so bruised, cut, bleeding and cracked he swore to never do anything like that again. Along with that he knew he'd pulled something in his mind, his vision was blurry and refusing to correct itself. It was all he could do to shakily half walk half ride back into town.

It was after this that he refused to come out of the attic for a good three days straight while his injuries healed. He'd done his best to correct them himself but he was still quite a mess by the time Mindy got him to come downstairs again.

Thankfully she had thought it was because of what had happened with that monster who'd come by and knocked him off the bike. She thought his ego was bruised terribly, really it was that he was sick of being beat up trying to do some worthlessly stupid old and odd Earth custom.

Mindy had taken one look at him and gasped, putting her hand on her chest her eyes bugging wide and told him what a mess he looked. She'd then shooed him into the bathroom, but thankfully it was to tell him to scrub up now. Something he'd entirely forgotten when he'd stumbled home the other day. She'd shut the door on him saying she'd take care of his injuries after he'd gotten out of the shower.

Mork hoped to avoid that, but true to her word after he got out (and boy did taking a long bath feel good, especially on his aching bones and other parts, such as the bruises) Mindy was there. She shooed him back into the bathroom then proceeded to “fix him up” at least now I don't have to fight clothing, sweat and dirt stains,” she smirked up at him.

“Oh ar ar.” Mork just clutched the towel tighter around himself and felt his whole body go HOT! He noticed his legs, then arms go reddish, his face feeling like it was going to burst!

 

Mork did the training thing only two or three more times, making sure not to use time warps any longer, but by the last one he was so worn out and wrecked he collapsed on the couch and didn't move for a full day. He estimated though that he'd managed to shave off a good several months off figuring out how to ride a bike though.

 

By the time five weeks were gone he'd managed to learn how to ride a bike, well enough that he was actually going places on his own with the thing. He was so proud of himself that one day he biked down to the music store and surprised Mindy. She popped out a scream and clapped her hands once, apparently in joy and rapture.

“Oh! I'm so proud of you Mork!” She'd thrown her arms around him then, hugging his neck.

“Proud of him for what?” Mr. McConell asked.

“He learned to ride a bike!” she let go and leaned back to look him from bottom to top. “See I knew you could do it Mork!” she punched his arm and he rubbed it, a bruise still sore there. “I know! I'll get my bike and we'll go riding after work.” She smiled so wide that Mork could see all her teeth!

He stared for a second, his eyes mesmerized by it, he leaned in, taking in the detail wondering what his eyes were seeing for them to be so entranced.   
Was there something off he wasn't noticing but his eyes did? After a second he stopped himself and pulled back, shaking his head a bit, hoping no one noticed, especially Mr. McConell.

His behavior would have gotten him reprimanded if noticed on Ork.

When Mindy came home she got herself ready and they went out, bicycling all around town. Mork was still a bit shaky and unsure but after a while started to enjoy the ride. He still couldn't see the point or joy that so enraptured Mindy but he realized that once you got the hang of it it wasn't so bad.

Especially if others didn't stare or gawk at you, which had seemed to stop happening he noticed.   
Maybe Mindy was right, maybe it was just the fact that he'd been on an old “Girls” bike with training wheels.

 

After this they were taking bicycle rides almost every other day and Mork was starting to enjoy them. His favorite part was watching Mindy as she lead the way, “always the trail blazer” as Mr. McConell had said, whatever that meant. Mork had asked Mindy about this saying and had found that it meant that she was the one to be out in front, getting everyone to follow her, “blazing the trail” and deciding where everyone was going to go.

“We used to hike a lot and also go bicycling when Mom was alive. Dad and Mom would let me lead them all over town.” Mindy had been clutching Mork's fingertips, a sense of longing and loss all about her. As if she were lost in memories. “Until you came along I hadn't felt like riding anymore,” She sighed.

Mork had scooted closer, the both of them on the couch, “I'm glad I could bring you that part of your self back.” He'd tried for a smile but it didn't really work, his eyes wanting to leak instead.

“Yeah kinda amazing and odd huh.” Mindy had looked up at him, chuckling through her leaking eyes. It seemed that her mouth wanted to be down turned but she was forcing it into a smile; just for him.

Mork scooted closer, glad and not sure if this was a good thing for her to be fighting her sadness.

“Don't try to smile for me, or go biking for me.” Mork bent his head trying to catch her gaze.

“Oh,” Mindy wiped her eyes, “It's just that until you came along I didn't have anyone to go bicycling with. Dad was always too busy and even though he bought me a ten speed, a real racing bike when I was a teen I still wasn't much into it anymore.” She sniffled, her eyes leaking more it seemed. “Until I got my license I used the bike to get around town. That's what Dad had gotten it for.” Mindy looked down then, picking at something on the couch. “So I rarely ever went anywhere. But that only lasted about two years, not long. Then I was into driving everywhere.” She tried for a chuckle, but a sniffling huff came out.

Mork reached up and wiped away a tear, “But if it makes you sad then don't do it-”  
“No no Mork you don't get it. Until you Bicycling always had ah,” She paused for a second, “well,” she shrugged, “I guess a veil over it, like a cloud of sadness.” She went silent then, seeming to think for a while, “when you came along I wanted to show you the joy of riding a bike and had entirely forgotten about the whole thing.” She sniffed again and wiped a tear away. “It's a common Earth thing and I wanted to show it to you, hope that your planet would be able to have the same joy. I never recalled-it never occurred to me the memories of what had happened, why I had stopped in the first place.” She turned and grabbed a Kleenex out of the box on the coffee table. She blew her nose and Mork leaned back, wow what a noise!

He held in his smirk, not wanting to be rude.

“It wasn't until we started to really ride that I remembered. But I've enjoyed it every day and so far it seems that riding with you is replacing all that sadness.” She looked up at him from under her brow.

“You know?” She smirked through her wet eyes swinging his hand a bit. “It's almost like I have a new bike an' am starting over.” She blew her nose his time quietly. “I like it.” She spoke behind the Kleenex, “I'd like it even more if I can replace the memories entirely.” She chuckled loudly at this, as though such a thought were impossible.

Mork scooted close and reached out, wrapping his arms around her. They stayed like that for a while.

He squeezed and felt her body, it was cool with warm bits here and there, soft and so nice.

So so nice.

Down right wonderful.

He really liked this earth custom.

“Mindy.”   
“Yeah.”  
“If you want I can make you forget.”  
“No no Mork. Even though the memories hurt, that was my Mother and I don't ever want to lose her. All I have left are my memories. If I lose that then I lose her entirely.”  
Mork's throat got a sharp lump in it. He opened his mouth to breath and had to cough, his throat wet he found. His vision went wavy, as if seeing underwater again.

“Oh,” He bent his head, hiding his sight in her hair. “I'm sorry.”

“Oh Mork.” Mindy chuckled into his chest, “There's nothing for you to be sorry about.”Mindy leaned back and looked at him clutching his hand. “You brought me happiness and brought back a part of myself I had long since put away/lost.”She smiled her eyes welling up with water again, “And the best part you brought it back with happiness.”

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

END

 


End file.
